Reported race based hate crimes jumped in 2020

Timothy Bryan

Reported hate crimes in Nova Scotia saw a major spike in 2020, mostly driven by incidents involving race, pointing to what many people of colour have said is a longstanding reality in the province.

Statistics Canada released new data last week on police-reported hate crimes across the country for 2020. Rates of hate crimes per 100,000 people increased in Nova Scotia by 70 per cent, the steepest rise in Canada.

“My reaction is sort of twofold, you know — concerned on one end, but perhaps less surprised on the other,” said Timothy Bryan, an assistant sociology professor at the University of Toronto’s Mississauga.

A hate crime is defined “as a criminal violation against a person or property motivated by hate, based on race, national or ethnic origin, language, colour, religion, sex, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation or gender identity or expression, or any other similar factor,” according to the report.

There are also four offences related to hate propaganda and hate crimes in the Criminal Code, and judges can issue stiffer sentences for criminal offences, such as assault, that were motivated by bias, prejudice or hatred.

There were 41 hate crimes involving race in Nova Scotia. Most targeted Black people (13), while the next highest category of nine incidents involved “other” race or ethnicity. That grouping included crimes targeting more than one race or ethnic group, or a person who was not of Black, white, Asian or Indigenous background.

Throughout the history of Nova Scotia there have been “deep seated issues and concerns” of various forms of racism, especially anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism, said Bryan, who has lived in Halifax and taught at Dalhousie University.

Christine Yang

With data like this, Bryan said the conversation can move away from questioning whether racist hate crimes exist, to looking at how the province can respond to it, better support victims, and create societies ultimately free from hate.

There were 2,669 incidents reported nationally, up 37 per cent compared with 2019, which was the largest number recorded since comparable data became available in 2009.

While Canada reported 663 incidents motivated by hatred against the Black population in 2020, the highest number on record, the report noted Black people have historically remained among the most targeted groups.

Black people accounted for 26 per cent of overall hate crimes, more than double the next highest group, the Jewish population.

The year 2020 also brought the COVID-19 pandemic and more open hostility to those of East and Southeast Asian background. The data showed a major national jump of 301 per cent, up to 269 incidents from 67 the year before.

Christine Qin Yang, who is originally from China and has been in Halifax for the past 10 years, said she was “not surprised” to see the numbers since she has experienced anti-Asian comments herself.

She said international students have also told her about the verbal harassment they’ve gotten in Halifax on the bus, in grocery stores or walking down the street. But, many of these people don’t report the crimes because they don’t want to “cause trouble” and are worried about their immigration status if they go to police, Qin Yang said.

In a time when Nova Scotia is pushing to increase immigration and welcome new Canadians to address labour and economic issues, Qin Yang said it’s important to become a more “welcoming community.”

Individuals should also speak up about racist jokes or comments they hear from friends and family, Bryan said, which can all too easily creep into other hateful behaviours.

Bryan said the numbers show hate crimes are “more mainstream in our society than we would like to believe” and require a more substantial response from every level but especially government and police.

Const. John MacLeod, spokesperson for the Halifax Regional Police, said in an email that they take incidents motivated by hate toward a specific group “very seriously,” and have started additional training for officers to establish a new hate crimes unit.

A spokesperson with the province’s Office of Equity and Anti-Racism Initiatives said in an email that the 2020 data reflects what they have heard from members of marginalized and racialized communities.

An all-party committee worked on legislation that will be introduced “very soon” to address racism, hate and inequity in Nova Scotia, spokesperson Chad Lucas wrote.